Page 221 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

Bob nodded. “Appears to be. I didn’t do much more than glance inside—some drawings of earrings, couple of receipts and whatnot—but I figure they might do you more good than they do me since you were asking about the business.”

Fuck, yeah. This had the potential to be another huge step in the right direction. “I appreciate it. You don’t mind if I hold on to this for a while?”

“I say go ahead and keep it. Recycle it if it doesn’t help you out.”

He nodded, shifting closer to the display case when Stu Baker moved to get by in the tight space. “All right.”

Bob looked at his watch. “I should get back.”

Nate touched Captain Bob’s arm. “If you have one more second.”

Bob glanced at his watch again. “Sure.”

“I’m wondering if you and Lucky might be up for another hike—talking things over one more time.” And picking Bob’s brain—maybe helping Bob remember exactly where he’d found the locket.

“Sure. I have a day off coming up. Thursday. Lucky and I were going to try a little fishing, but we probably have time for both.”

Nate nodded. “Great. Let me know a good time and we’ll make it happen.”

“You know, I could probably squeeze in a hike tomorrow. Ferry’s not running its normal ten o’clock loop so they can take care of some minor maintenance and repairs. As long as we’re back by two, that would work for me.”

“Unfortunately, I’m heading into Boston—should be gone all day.” Nate caught Callie’s eye and barely suppressed a wince as she stopped mid-grab for a pastry. They hadn’t exactly talked about his plans yet.

“Thursday it is, then,” Bob confirmed.

“Great. I’ll give you a call if something should change, but otherwise I’m looking forward to it.”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

“Bye.” Nate waited for Callie at the back of the room until most everyone left with their to-go coffees and bags of morning goodies or early lunches.

She walked over, smiling. “I’m sorry that took so long.”

“No problem.” He kissed her. “It’s nice to see the place so busy.”

She reached for his hand. “I missed you at the breakfast table this morning.”

“I missed you too.” He gripped her fingers, giving a gentle squeeze. “Work’s kept me pretty busy.”

She nodded, inspecting the box. “What’s this?”

“Some old paperwork I’m going to give a look through—see if I can find any sort of connection to the locket.”

“Oh.” She tucked the stray strands of hair escaping her ponytail behind her ear. “So, I didn’t realize you were heading over to the mainland tomorrow.”

He didn’t miss the way her gaze darted to the floor before she met his again. “Yeah, I didn’t know I was going until a couple of hours ago.”

“And you and Captain Bob are going back into the forest?”

Why did it feel like they were heading back onto boggy ground? He glanced toward Francis McMasters, Sanderson’s gossip extraordinaire, as she gathered napkins and straws within hearing distance. “I can tell you about it later.”

“Sure.” Callie curved her lips but the sparkle was absent from her big blue eyes. “I should probably get back to work—help Molly get ready for lunch.”

“Hold on.” He pulled her closer before she could break their connection and walk away. They’d fixed things last night. He’d be damned if her case was going to cause problems between them again. “I have to do my job.”

She touched a finger to the dark circles under his eyes. “I know.”

He knew perfectly well what she was hinting at. “I’m handling it.”